Esgair Forest

Esgair Forest extends to 500 acres of commercial coniferous and deciduous forest with a reliable annual timber crop in excess of 1500 tonnes a year.

The forest was initially planted in the period 1940 – 1965 and has been continuously replanted as timber has been has been removed when it has become mature. Our main coniferous species are; Douglas Fir, European Larch, Sitca Spruce, Western Red Cedar, Lawson Cypress, Western Hemlock , Norway Spruce, Noble Fir and Grand Fir. Our Deciduous species are; Sessile Oak, Ash, Birch, Beech, Chilean Beech and Sweet Chestnut.

Much of the forest output is sold locally, to builders, developers, farmers and home builders, as well as to our fuel wood and chip customers.

We are always seeking to work with customers who are serious about their environmental responsibilities in connection with sourcing the products they use or sell.

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We are also experimenting with some aspects of food production, trying to grow meat, fruit and vegetables in the forest itself. We are currently rearing guinea fowl and have 11 weaner pigs of three different breeds to see which does best in our situation. Both the guinea fowl and the pigs were chosen to keep the bracken and undergrowth down around the young tree plantations, as an alternative to chemical weed killer.

We sell wild guinea fowl eggs locally, with the pigs being grown through to pork weight for slaughter this Autumn . We also have geese and turkeys.